On April 14, we had our baby shower. When I planned the date with my sister (the amazing organizer of the event), we figured mid-April would be best. Close to the due date but not too close, and hopefully the weather would be better than it would be in March. (Then again, it is Colorado, and the weather is a total crap shoot in both months–could be beautiful and sunny or cold and snowy, or both in the same weekend.)
It’s really a good thing we didn’t push it any later than April 14, because Rowan was born the following Sunday.
But before I share all about Rowan’s birth story (it’s a doozy!) in an upcoming blog, I wanted to share about the baby shower first.
I really wanted Nick to be involved in the baby shower, so it was a co-ed event. There are only so many ways a dad can be involved in a pregnancy (and Nick didn’t even get to be super involved in what’s supposed to be the fun part!), so I really wanted to ensure he was included in this bit.
I put together an invitation, and we sent it out.
My mom, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and couple of friends were all able to join us from out-of-state, and lots of our Colorado friends, coworkers, and neighbors joined too. I was once again reminded of how great a village Nick and I have!
The Saturday before, my mom, sister, and I did all the last-minute shopping for the event. There was a big Costco run, a grocery store run, and some errands to make sure we were ready for the big day.
Not wanting to miss out, I went on all the excursions, and I definitely paid for it that night. It was fun but exhausting, and my ankles were super swollen that evening. I think it was the most I’d done in a single day in quite a long time.
The day of the shower arrived, and we were ready! We’d booked a room at our local rec center that’s just a couple of blocks from the house. Emilee, Mom, Carrie, Doug, Nick, Noah, and Cathy helped set up all the decorations, and I acted as a gopher to get the little things we forgot.
Soon after, everything was set up and our guests started to arrive. It was fun to have so many of our favorite people all together in one room. As usually happens with large gatherings, it can be tough to chat with everyone, but Nick and I did our best!
We were able to chat and enjoy some food for the first hour or so, and then it was time for the games! It’s good we have friends who are good sports. One of the games had all the guys see who could chug a drink out of a baby bottle the fastest.
In addition to that game, there were also fun trivia games where attendees guessed who Rowan might look like, what his birthday would be (no one got that!), how big he’d be, as well as answering questions about Mom and Dad (who had more hair as a baby, who was fussy as a baby, etc.).
Once the games were done, it was time to have some cake and open the presents! The cake was absolutely amazing, and we still have the small one leftover in the fridge. I look forward to thawing and enjoying it soon!
We received some wonderful gifts that all proved to be very handy just a week later!
The next weekend, we were supposed to take a baby safe class and a breastfeeding class, have a maternity shoot, organize our nursery, and start writing our thank you notes. But our plans changed quite suddenly.
And that’s where we’ll pick up in the next blog!
Side note: For those who did join us for the shower or send us a gift, I promise I’m still working on the thank you notes. I haven’t forgotten! Life just looks a little different now, and it’s been hard to find the time.
IVF That 